Label



Nov, 11,1941; F. w. FARRELL 2,262,492

1 LABEL Filed June 6, 1.939

l of that marx.

Patented Nov. A11, 19421 LABEL Frederick W. Farrell, West cordage Company, North Plty'mouth, Mnl., a'corporation of Hameln v signor to Plymouth Brookneld, Hals., aa

Application :une s. 193s, sani No. :77,599

` ls claims. (ci. ia-z) This invention relates to improvements in labels.

More especially itrrelates to printed 'paper la bels, and the like, such as are used in commerce to indicate thecontents of bottles and other containers, and to show the name or trade-mark of the maker.

The labels of well-reputed makers are somel times counterfeited, for dispensingl goods of the counterfeiter as-` being those having the high reputation, or for fraud in some other respect.

For the` detecting of such frauds, the stock held v for sale by retailers `to the public has to be examined. It is diilicult to inspect a retailers stock' in trade to determine whether it is genuine, as

. labelled. or is spurious, because the visual aspect of goods and label can be copied very exactly by the counterfeiter. When a maker of the genuine employs inspectors for this purpose, he iinds their work. expensive, because the containers have to be purchased and opened; and yeven then the availablev tests forcomparing the counterfeit Y with the genuineproduct may be uncertain, because oi the cl'evemessof imitation.

A device useful lin this situation has been disclosed in the patent granted to Dr. Ernest H.-

of his output. of the kind in question, the finding of a similar package on a retailer's shelf having a label-which appears normal, but which is found to be really not bearing such a mark, unequivocally detects that as a counterfeit. It remains, however. that an invention such as this would be most useful if the authenticated mark could also be safe against being itself counterfeited. The invention provides restrictions which offer safeguard in this respect also. 1

For goods having quality, high enough to carry a risk of being counterfeited, makers are accustomed to use labels of high quality; and these are printed on coated paper. I have discovered that it is possible to apply an authenticating mark to such labels, so that it can serve in the manner above indicated, and to conceal the slight difference of shade or surface texture, so that av Huntress'lilo.` 1,822,098,v of September 8, v1931,

bywhich anidentifying mark can be applied for authenticating the package, in such a way that the presence of that mark would not ordinarily be suspected; because itmay be invisible, except that it uoresces to visibility under ultra violet rays; For best.v use to distinguish the genuine fromthe spurious, such a mark must avoid being itselfrcounterfeited; and to this end it should be perfectly` invisible` underv ordinary conditions. Preferably, the marking substance applied to a label would either have the same shade as the background of the label, or would be so colorless that the aspect of thebackground is unchanged by it. But the fluorescing substances found convenient to be applied for this purpose sometimes effect a slight changein the surface ofthe label, either in texture, or in shade, so that a close inspection inordinary light, of the genuine label thus authenticated,.would discern the presence The present 'inventionV provides means by which-such amark, `authenticatingthe label on which it stands, `canbe made perfectly invisible to anyordinaryvhandler of the labelled package,

i l and yet be so clearlyreadable byvan inspector,

equipped with apparatus for `producing ultra violet rays, as to assure the inspector that the label genuine. If themaker has thus marked all 6s articles offered for sale are genuine in accordance with their label' or are spurious. This detecting` of counterfeit labels can be an important step toward the eliminating of this variety of fraud on the public and on the maker.

To counterfeit the authenticating mark the would-be counterfeiter must first know that such a mark is present; and then, in order to produce it, he must be able to command the servieesof a paper mill capable of executing :the counterfeit. Such mills are few in number, and are generally under a management control which would not participate in the making of a proposed counterfeit.

According to my discovery, the concealment of an effective authenticating mark can be accomplished, in a label printed on coated paper, by imposing the authenticating iluorescing mark on the raw paper stock of the label instead of on the surface which receives the ordinary ink imprint of the label. The mark may be made by a solution containing any substance which will be ad*- sorbed on the paper as a dye, or as ink is adsorbed, and will fluoresce under ultra, violet rays, providing it does not make a-greater change in the surface aspect of that paper than will be masked by the coating which is normally to be added in making the kind of coated paper of which the label is made. It therefore does not require to be undiscernible on the raw stock in ordinary light; but the applying of the coating over it covers it so that such visibility as it has disappears. The coating by which itsV presence is thus made undiscernible in ordinary light may be the usual coating of clay and other substances, as satin white and casein in the example given below, such as are ordinarily applied in the making of coated paper for labels; and by then printing this coated paper in the usual way of printing the particular style of label which is thus being authenticated and lmade identifiable as genuine. Having conceived thatl this might be done, I have discovered that the presence of the authenticating mark can be perfectly concealed by that normal coating of the paper, and yet be readily visible by fluorescence through that coating when ultra violet rays are applied. This seems to be because the coating, although not permeable by ordinary light rays, is permeable by the impinging ultra violet rays, and is also permeable by the emanating visible fluorescent light rays which become generated by reaction of the ultra violet rays on the fluorescing substance under the coating.

It is intended that, by suitable expression in the appended claims, the patent shall cover whatever of patentable novelty exists in the disclosure here made.

The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a face view of a sheet of raw stock of paper, of which the label is to be made; and may be considered also as showing the outline, in face view, of a label embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a section through a bottle labelled in accordance with the invention, the several elements of the label being separated from each other and exaggerated in thickness for diagrammatic showmg;

Figure 3 is a section through a completed label prepared to be aillxed to a container by a decalcomania process, the several elements constituting the label being exaggerated in thickness;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a modification.

In the drawing the numeral I designates thel raw paper stock, which constitutes'the principal body of the label, whose back side bears a coating of dextrine, casein, or other adhesive 2 for holding the label on the glass bottle 3. The numeral 4 indicates the said fluorescent material deposited in printed characters on the face of the paper I, the separated rectangles being sections, through the lines composing those characters, exaggeratedly representing the thickness of the printed characters. Numeral 5 indicates the coating which, in the making of the label without the invention, would normally be combined with the raw stock I to make the nished paper on which the ordinary ink 6 is imprinted to constitute the label. In the completed label, as is indicated in Figure 3, these parts are all compressed together, the fluorescing substance 4 being on the surface of the raw paper and absorbed a little way into it, and being overlaid by and covered by the coating 5 on whose outer surface the printers ink 6 of the label stands, partly absorbed, with its outer face exposed to view in the usual way.

Such a. label may be applied to a container by the usual method of applying a gummed adhesive back of the paper to the container, as indicated in Figure 2; but Figure 3 shows how the label may be prepared for application to whatever is to receive it by having its back coating of adhesive covered with a layer` of suitably porous paper 'I such as is used in decalcomania, which. when wetted, can be slipped out from escasas under, leaving the label adhering to the surface of the container.

Material to constitute the uorescent marking may be any of those substances in the nature of dyes mentioned in the said Huntress patent, selections being made so that the color shades of paper and of the fluorescent imprinted substance approximately agree, or, at will, a colorless substance capable of fluorescing may be used; or any other substances conforming to these standards and capable of being adsorbed by the paper, a considerable number of which are known. Instances are found in the stilbene derivatives which are known to uoresce, for example the free acid or a water-soluble salt oi 4:4' dibenzoylaminostilbene 2:2' disulphonic acid or a substitution derivative thereof also in anthracene, which may be dusted on, or applied in a suitable solvent.

For a safeguard against the fraud oi soaking genuine labels off from their original bottles, and then applying them to bottles with spurious contents, a water-soluble fluorescent salt may be used. One such, which hasthe property of being invisible until ultra violet light is applied to it, is a sodium salt of 2-naphthol-3z6-disulphonic acid. Upon an attempt at removal of a label, so marked, the distinctive mark would be destroyed by the water applied for moving the paper from the bottle, or for washing the bottle with the label still on it.

On the other hand, by printing with petroleum jelly, carried in a suitable vehicle, for example, three times its volume of Xylene, a mark is made which will not wash out in case the label of a bottle gets wet, and which is invisible under the nish coating of the paper until ultra violet light is applied.

The concentration or percentage of the liucrescing material in the fluid for printing the authenticating mark may depend upon the fluorescent characteristics of the particular material selected for use, easily ascertainable by trial according to whatever strength may be desired. An illustrative formula for a vehicle, for applying the marking material in fluid form is, by weight:

. Per cent Water 45 Glycerine (specific gravity 1.25) 55 to which is added the desired proportion of fluorescent substance for which in many instances 2% will be found satisfactory.

The mark may be applied either by printing it, or marking it by hand, as a signature or otherwise as may be convenient or preferred, on the paper I before the manufacture of the paper is completed by the adding of its finish coating. In some cases the mark may be a mere covering of the whole surface of the paper, or whatever sheet substance is u sed in the way in which paper is ordinarily used, with a substance which fluoresces distinctively. Or it may have a stippled or spotted aspect obtained by the slightly visible deposit thus made on the raw paper stock I, the methods and materials ordinarily used in making a finish coating, especially that mark. and of the out-passing of iiuorescing rays that emanate from the mark, so that the mark itself becomes readily visible under those circumstances:

Percent by weight Satin White China clay 30 Liquid casein (ln-5) 40 Water 20 In this general art other materials with which the invention may be practiced, well known for coating paper, are titanium oxide andblanc fix, as well as calcium carbonate. The coating is effected by first applying the covering pigment, white or with such pulps as may be used for color; then, if desired, brushing it smooth; and then calendering, all4 according to usual processes.

It ,is also possible, as illustrated in Figure 4 wherein corresponding elements are designated by the same reference characters, to mask a distinguishing mark of the class described by putting it between the raw paper stock and the coating of adhesive gum by which the paper is held on the bottle. In this case the aspect of the paper where the mark is may diiier slightly from the aspect of the paper elsewhere, and that difference be non-discernible when the face side of the label is viewed, because'from that viewpoint it is masked by the body of the paper, even though the paper is of the varietywhich has no finish coating on itsface, but its presence may be found by the applying of ultra violet rays to the face of the label; or, the ultraviolet rays may be applied, through the bottle and contents, to the back side of the label. In this case the mark can be masked against detection by ordinary vision by the coating of adhesive gum on the back of the label, which may have whatever tint and shade of color will serve that purpose for the particular variety of fluorescing material which is used. The mark may even be applied on the gum of the extreme back surface of the label, if the coating of gum affords a suitable color background against which the Klass and contents of the bottle can constitute a masking of whatever differential of aspect is thus occasioned. l

In all of the instances noted, it will be observed that the masking is by a coating which, as a coating, is transparent or 'at least translucent, to ultra violet rays and to the rays uorescently regenerated thereby. These coatings first above A mentioned have solids of finely powdered material, which may be individually opaque but are bound together by a lm, as casein or ordinary glue, which the rays can permeate. And such rays can also permeate colored inks; and I believe that it is because the ultra violet rays are so short that they can get through the infinitesimally small spaces between the pigment particles, or between the occulently deposited fibres of the paper, with more facility than the rays of ordinarylight. But if the coating is one of a metallic foil which is continuous and opaque, the

mark should be on the back of the label; as also is preferable when the words or pictures of the label are imprinted in heavy black, in which case the black solids of the ink absorb so much 4ol? the light that the seeing of the mark is diflicult.

I claim as my invention:

1. A label comprising a print on a sheet of paper or the like, combined with a deposit on the label, constituting a mark, of material capable of iluorescing under ultra violet rays; there being a covering, and the said deposit being positioned between that covering and the paper sheet, said covering comprising a coating on the paper of the label, of material having the character that it obscures the mark in ordinary light when viewed through said coveringA but permits the passing of ultra violet rays, and rays of the consequent `iiuorescent 4emanations of the mark, rendering the mark visible when viewed through said covering.

2. A label as in claim l, wherein the covering .is a finish coating on the face side ofthe label.

3. A label as in claim 1, wherein the covering is acoating of adhesive gum on the back side of the label. l i 4. A label as in claim 1, wherein the covering is a finish coating oi' finely divided pigment.

5. A label as in claim 1, wherein the covering is -a finish coating of finely divided discontinuous particles and a colloidal film holding them together.

6. A label as in claim 1, wherein the covering is a finish coating of finely divided coating materials of the recognized industrial type and 4class which includes china clay, satin white,

blanc fix, calcium carbonate and titanium oxide.

FREDERICK W. FARRELL. 

